Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/981

 HEB

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HEB

were real or not, provided they ferved a Purpofe in ac- counting for any of the Celeftial Motions, and agreed with Phenomena. See Hypothesis, System, Pheno- mena, iSc.

Among the ether Reveries of the Rabbins, contained in the 'Talmud, we find it afferted, that there is a Place where the Heavens and Earth joyn together ; that Rabbi Barchana going thither, laid his Hat on the Window of Heaven ; and that going to take it again immediately after, it was' gone, the Heavens having carried it off; to that he mull wait for a Revolution of the Orbs to bring it to its Place again.

HEAVINESS, See Weight, Gravity, 8c.

For the Laws of the Defcent of Heavy Bodies. See Descent, 8t.

In Striclnefs, Heavy Bodies do not tend prccifely to the very Centre of the Earth, except at the Poles and the Equator ; by Reafbn of the fpheroidal Figure of the Earth. ■ — Their Direction is every where perpendicular to the Surface of the Spheroid. See Earth and Spheroid.

HEAULME, or HeAume, in Heraldry, an Helmet, or Head-piece. See Helmet.

HEWING of •Timber. See Timber.

HEBBERMAN, in our antient Law-Books, a Fifher- man below London - Bridge ; thus call'd, becaufe he commonly fifties at Ebb Water. See Ebb.

HEBBERTHEF, in our antient Cuftoms, a Privilege of having the Goods of a Thief, and the Trial of him, within a particular Dinrict.

HEBDOMAD1US, antiently denoted a Canon, or Pre- bendary, in a Cathedral Church, who had the peculiar Care of the Choir, and the Infpeclion of Officers of it for his Week. See Canon, Cathedrae, and Choir.

HEBDOMADEER,Hebdomadary,Hebdomadarius, a Member of a Chapter, or Convent, whofe Week it is to perform the Office, rehearfe the Anthems and Prayers, prefide and perform the ufual Functions which Supe- riors perform at folemn Feafts, and on other extraordinary Occafions.

The Hebdomddeer generally collates to the Benefices which become vacant during his Week : Tho' this is ufually look'd on as an Abufe. ■

The Word is form'd of the Greek, e^JW^j which fig- nifies the Number feven, of etf-7"*, Seven. See Week.

In Monaftcries, the Hebdomadary is he who waits at Table for a Week, or other ftated Period ; directs and affifts the Cook, 8c.

In Church Antiquity, we meet with nine different Sorts of Hebdomadeers, viz. — The Hebdomadar'ms Cantor, or Hebdomadary Chanter ; Hebdomadarius Chori, Hebdoma- dary of the Choir ; which two were really the fame, viz. he who prefided at the public Service : Hebdomadary of theKitchin, Hebdomadarius Coqitinte : Hebdomadary of the Defunct or the Dead, Hebdomadarius Deflmttorum, he who took Care of the Office and Service of the Dead : Hebdomadarius Invitatorii, he who fang the Invitatory : Hebdomadarius Lector ad Menfam, he who read at Meal Time : Hebdomadarius majoris Miffe, he who read Mafs .- Hebdomadarius 'Pfalterii, which probably was the fame with the Hebdomadarius Chori : And Hebdomadarius facri Altaris, which might be the fame with Hebdomadeer of the high Mafs.

HEBRAISM, an Idiotifm or Manner of Speaking pe- culiar to the Hebrew Tongue. See Idiot ism.

There is no Underftanding, even the Verfions of the Old Teftament, without fbme Acquaintance with the Hebrew ; they are fo full of Hebraifms.

We have Abundance of Hebraifms borrow'd from Scrip- ture, and naturalized in our own Language ; as, Son of 'perdition : To Jleep in the Lord, &c. See Hebrew.

HEBREW, fomething relating to the People of the 'Jews, i. e. to the twelve Tribes, defceuded from the twelve Patriarchs, the Sons of Jacob. See Jews. Thus we fay,

Hebrew Bible. See Bible.

Hebrew Character. See Character. There are two Kinds of Hebrew Characters ; the An- tient, call'd alfo the Square ; and the Modern, or Rab- binical Characters.

The Square Hebrew, takes its Denomination from the Figure of its Characters, which ftand more Square, and have their Angles more exact and precife than the other.

This Character is ufed in the Text of Holy Scripture, and their other principal and moll important Writings. — -When both this, and the Rabbinical Character, are ufed in the fame Work ; the former is for the Text, or the fundamental Part ; and the latter, for the acceffory Part, as the Glofs, Notes, Commentaries, 8c.

The belt and beautifulieft Characters of this Kind, are thofe imitated from the Characters in the Sj/aniJ/j Manu-

fenpts ; next, thofe from rhc Italian Manufcripts ; then, thofe from the French ; and laltly, thofe of the Germans, whofe Characters are much the fame, with Refpc-1 to the other genuine Square Hebrew Charaflers, that the Gothic or Dutch Characters are with Refpccl to the Roman.

Several Authors contend, that the Square Character is not the real, antient Hebrew Character, wrote from the Beginning of the Language to the Time of the Babylonip. Captivity; but that it is the Ajfyrian, or Chaldee Cha- racter, which the Jews affumed, and accullom'd themfelves to, during the Captivity, and retain'd afterwards. — ■ Thefe Authors add, that what we call the Samaritan Cha- racter, is the antient Hebrew.

The learned Jefuite Souciet maintains, with great Addrefs, that the antient Hebrew Character, is that found on the Medals of Simon, and others, commonly call'd Samaritan Medals ; but which, he aflerts, were really Hebrew Me- dals, flruck by the Jews, and not by the Samaritans. See Samaritan. '

The Modern, or Rabbinical Hebrew Character, is a good neat Character, form'd of the Square Hebrew by rounding ir, and retrenching molt of the Angles, or Corners of rhe Letters, to make it the more eafy and flowing. — Thofe ufed by the Germans, are very different from the Rabbinical Character ufed every where elfe, tho' all form'd alike from the Square Character, but the German more flovenly than the reft.

The Rabbins frequently make ufe either of their own, or the Square Hebrew Character, to write the modern Languages in. — There are even Books in the vulgar Tongues, printed in the Hebrew Characters : Inltances whereof are feen in the French King's Library.

Hebrew Language, call'd abfolutely Hebrew, is the Language fpoke by the Hebrews, and wherein molt of the Books of the Old Teftament are wrote ; whence it is alfo call'd the Holy, or Sacred Language. See Language.

There is no Piece, in all Antiquity, wrote in pure He- brew, befide the Books of the Old Teftament ; and even fome Parts of thofe are in Chaldee. See Chaldee.

The Hebrew, then, appears to be the moll antient of all the Languages in the World ; at Ieaft, 'tis fo with Regard ro us, who know of no older. Some learned Men will have it the Language fpoke by Adam in Pa- radice ; and that the Saints will fpeak it in Heaven.

Alberti, in his Hebrew Dictionary, endeavours to find in each Word, in its Root, in its Letters, and the Manner of pronouncing them, fome natural Reafon of the Signifi- cation of that Word. Bur he has carried Matters too "far; and it has been ftiewn, in the Memoirs de Trevoux, that on his Principles, Words which really fignify quite different Things, ftiould fignify the fame.

Neuman, and Loefcher, have profecuted Alberti's Scheme further, and with more Addrefs than he has done : The firft, in his Genejis Linguae Sanely, and Fxodus Lingua Sanctte ; and the latter, in his Treatife de Caujis Lingua Hebrete.

Be this as it will, the Hebrew, fuch as we have it in the Holy Scripture, is a very regular, analogical Language, and particularly fo in its Conjugations. Properly fpeaking, there is but one, fimple Conjugation ; but this is varied in each Verb feven or eight Ways, which has the Effect of fo many different Conjugations, and affords a great Number of Expremons, whereby to reprefenr, under one finale Word, all the different Modifications of a Verb ; and fevcral Ideas at once, which in the modern, and molt of the antient and learned Languages, are expreffiblc only by Phrafes.

The Original, or Primitive Words in this Language, which they call Radices, Roots, rarely confift of mbre than three Letters, or two Syllables, which are exprefs'd by two Sounds, or by the fame Sound redoubled, which is indicated by a Point. See Root, Radical,. 8c.

There are twenty two Letters in the Hebrew Language, which Grammarians divide into Guttural, Palatal, Dental, Labial, and Lingual. — This Divifion is taken from the feveral Organs of Speech ; fome whereof contri- bute more than others to the Pronunciation of certain Let- ters. See Voice. See alfo Guttural, Palatal, 8c. Ufually, they only reckon five Vowels in the Hebrew, which are the fame with ours, viz. a, e, i, o, u ; but then each Vowel is divided into two, a long, and a breve , or Ihort : The Sound of the former is fbmewhat graver, and longer ; and that of the latter fhorter, and more acute. ■ — It mult be added, that the two lall Vowels have quite different Sounds, different, we mean, in other Refpects befide Quantity and Degree of Elevation.

1 o thefe ten or twelve Vowels mutt be added fome others call'd Semi-Vowels, which are only flight Motions ferving to connect the Confonants, and make the eafier Tranfitions from one to another. See Vowel.


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